3 July.
AGE AND ACHIEVEMENT
Before the inbox of Football Daily fills with indignant responses, we want to emphasize that Cristiano Ronaldo is undoubtedly among the greatest male football players in history. The exact ranking may be debatable, yet his status within the elite circle of the sport is unquestionable. With clutch performances, breathtaking skills, and an impressive collection of trophies, Ronaldo has achieved nearly everything possible in his career. However, time waits for no one.
It’s fair to acknowledge that Ronaldo’s peak years are behind him, and the talented Portuguese national team, featuring a stellar midfield and top-tier left-back, deserves more than a 76-year-old forward who now relies largely on penalty kicks and padding stats against teams like Uzbekistan. The fact that Ronaldo continues to compete at a professional level is commendable—many men his age struggle to perform everyday tasks, let alone endure 90+ minutes against opponents who could easily be his children. Yet, it is crucial for coach Roberto Martínez to recognize that Portugal’s success should not depend solely on Ronaldo’s aging talents.
Recent headlines noted that Ronaldo scored during Portugal’s 2-1 victory over Croatia, securing a spot in the last 16 of the Geopolitics World Cup. Although he converted a penalty, his overall performance was lackluster, stalling Portugal’s offensive flow. Following his substitution at the 81st minute, he displayed his displeasure more than a town clock showing the hour. Despite Portugal’s dominance in stretches, they nearly faced defeat: Croatia had two goals disallowed by the narrowest of margins and struck the post before Gonçalo Ramos, the new £60m striker from Milan, salvaged the match in stoppage time with a header reminiscent of Ronaldo in his prime.
While aging may not tarnish one’s legacy, it is evident that Ronaldo’s time to inspire Portugal towards international success has passed—especially with a formidable Spain team looming in the next round. This narrative of doubting Ronaldo is becoming commonplace, which likely means Football Daily will find itself surprised when he defies expectations once more on Monday. Nevertheless, after the match against Croatia, Ronaldo exhibited class, honoring former teammate Diogo Jota—his No. 21 jersey symbolizing a poignant tribute on the first anniversary of the Liverpool forward’s passing. “Because the situation of the day, it means a lot to us,” Ronaldo stated. “Not only because we won the game but because of the way we did it.” The irony remains that had Jota been alive, Ronaldo likely would not have started against Croatia.
UPCOMING MATCHES
The last 32 matches are nearing their conclusion. Scott Murray will cover Australia versus Egypt at 7pm BST/2pm EDT, followed by Tom Lutz reporting on Argentina against Cape Verde at 11pm BST/6pm EDT. Finally, Beau Dure will provide updates on Colombia versus Ghana at 2.30am BST/9.30pm EDT.
For those not engaged yet, check out Big Website’s Instachat account, featuring Jonathan Wilson’s guide on succeeding in the GWC.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
30 June: “I am not someone who runs away” – Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann stands firm following their GWC exit against Paraguay.
“The decision was anything but easy for me … I am sorry and hurt from the bottom of my heart that we disappointed you”
– Nagelsmann departs, as German FA officials engage in urgent discussions with Jürgen Klopp.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
“Football died a bit yesterday, didn’t it? No one actually saw the ball touch Igor Matanovic’s head for Croatia against Portugal. The ball’s trajectory didn’t change significantly, even the ball’s spin didn’t change. Yet the computer sensor felt something, and thus we must all bow to it. What’s objective to a machine is more objective than our own sense apparatus. This feels momentous – not a ‘paradigm shift’ or anything so dramatic, but it does encapsulate in a neat anecdote how our attitude to technology has been changing over the decades, how we feel happier and happier to delegate important decisions to it, how we become, in a literal way, ever more irresponsible. The GWC, as several of your own writers have already described it, is a weirdly warped microcosm of the world at large. And what happened yesterday can be read as a very ill omen” – Fábio Ribeiro.
“In response to Pierre Igot’s request for a World Cup of Chocolate (yesterday’s Football Daily letters), former quiz show sidekick, bestselling author and all-round national treasure Richard Osman did one a few years back. This was only for British chocolate bars so perhaps he should do another one for international chocolate. Of course this time around it would need to be 48 bars rather than 32, and there’d need to be hydration breaks, of course” – Adam Clark.
“Re: yesterday’s letters. I would vote for giving the USA all of their exclamation marks back as long as they drop the A and write it US! US! US! to properly reflect the probability that their president will probably ruin the final by making it all about him” – Rick Costigan.
“I say let them be USA! USA USA for winning their last-32 game; USA! USA! USA if they win in the last 16; and go full USA! USA! USA! if they’re victorious in the quarter-finals. Should they overcome their opponents in the semis and final, I think we’ll all have more pressing concerns than punctuation” – Jim Hearson.
“Might I join the other 1,056 eagle-eyed readers pointing out that Scotland’s contribution to the GWC continues through the use of green tartan pitches?” – Duncan Steel (and no others).
If you have any thoughts, please send letters to the.boss@. Today’s prizeless letter of the day is … Fábio Ribeiro. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here.
Listen to the latest episode of the World Cup Daily podcast. You can access it here, or watch it here.
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